end of year exhibition

Wow what a crazy year! It's been such a busy few weeks with Christmas and getting ready for the last market and last exhibition of the year. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported all the local artists and designers at the Aspire Gallery's inaugural Christmas market in Paddington. It was great to be able to share my kids designs as well as my fine art work in the gallery. And thanks to everyone who has support creative monsoon and my fine art this year. I've got lots of plans for 2017 including a whole new range to work on!  More on that in the months to come.
So enjoy your holidays and see you in the New Year!

babies, books and rhymes

Twinkle Twinkle

Through November if you head to Brisbane's Ashgrove Library you can see a selection of my children's illustrations. (In fact it's been there already for a couple of weeks. It just happens someone pulled out of last months slot.) The Ashgrove Library seemed like a nice spot to show off my kids artwork which I started last year. I began going to the library with my little boy every week when he was 6mths for the babies, books and rhymes. Pretty soon I was creating fun and colourful illustrations inspired by the songs, rhymes and the books borrowed. Today I'm happy to say it's my full time job. So if you're in the Ashgrove area pop in and take a look.

All works are for sale. Framed versions can be picked up after the exhibition from Bardon in December, or I can drop them off locally. Prints are always available at www.creative-monsoon.com
USE THE CODE LIBRARY10 for 10% off

Ashgrove Library is located at 87 Amarina Ave, Ashgrove QLD

Hello Possum

You are out of this World

Shine Like Only You Can

Kangaroo Kisses

Toucan

You make me Happy when Skies are Grey

Shine Bright Diamond

You are Purrfect

Mirror Mirror Giraffe

12345 Fish

Reach for the Stars Giraffe

feline friends

Cool Cat

Flapper Cat

Cat's Pyjamas

You are purrfect

I've been asked a few times about creating some cat illustrations - so here they are. Been keeping me busy for weeks, and there are more to come. Available from creative-monsoon.com

Delicate Emotive

This month you can find more of my work at the Aspire Gallery in Brisbane's Paddington as part of Delicate Emotive. A group exhibition where the emphasis of the work is emotion and delicateness.  'Reflective Rose' (above) 9x11" original digital mixed media on board.

'Daisy Chain' 8x8" original digital mixed media on board

'Crushed blue rose' 8x8" original digital mixed media on board

The works are a mix of vintage graphics, found paper, antique maps, encaustic and watercolour effects and of course some security envelope lining. Printed with archival inks onto acid free and recycled paper. 

You can see the exhibition at Aspire Gallery, 

54 Kennedy Terrace, Paddington, Brisbane until 8th October

Make For Good

Make For Good is coming back. 

Last year you might remember I participated in the ‪#‎makeforgood‬ campaign with etsy and Plan International Australia. This year it will be running again and the theme is "Create Brighter Futures" so who better to add to the campaign than my futures so bright koala! Last year more than $30,000 was raised fro Plan International to support Because I Am A Girl helping girls learn, lead, decide and thrive.

The campaign kicks off 6th September and I'll be donating 50% of sales from Your Futures So Bright Koala print and hopefully adding a few new speical pieces too.

Tapu-te-ranga gallery

Tapu Te Ranga Gallery pic via Facebook

Wow this brings back a few memories! My very first home and my old gallery Art Space Island Bay in Wellington, New Zealand is back as a gallery again! So great to see. My old home has had a few different incarnations since I sold it in 2005 - an antique store and fashion boutique. Island Bay is such a lovely spot and the locals were always so supportive of my work. My time in New Zealand is still a big influence on my art, especially when it comes to landscapes.

The crazy thing is the new gallery owner used to run a gallery there in the 90s! Sounds like 139 The Parade has always had a creative history.  I have a lot of fond memories of Wellington and this house - hey its where I met my hubby! But this picture does also bring back memories of scrubbing that floor after weeks of painstakingly removing 1950s plastic tiles. Ahhhh my first attempts at DIY. I'd love to know what the rest of the building looks like inside - wondering if my purple textured bedroom walls and bright blue bathroom ceiling are still there :)

So if you're in Wellington pop in a say hi to the new artists and give my old home a hug for me.

night and day

'Night - misty lake' digital mixed media print

'Day' digital mixed media print

June has been a very busy month settling back in after our trip to NZ. This month I finished off two new pieces created for a Brisbane group exhibition, Foot Square at the Aspire Gallery in Paddington, and won the voters choice award!

This months I put together two new digital mixed media landscapes - night and day. The only limit to entries for the competition was each piece must be under a foot square which produced a fantastic range of themes and works for the exhibition.

The starting point for each work was a mountain range made from torn pieces of security envelope lining then many layers of texture, colour washes and more images were added. For example in 'Night' the moon is a frying pan and the night sky a close up shot of tree bark. 

Each was printed with archival inks onto my favourite acid free 100% recycled consumer paper, then mounted to board for a special edition print. There are limited edition unmounted versions 12x12" and 8x8" available from my shops fine art section and on artfinder.com 

Opening night was a great turn out, so many different styles and ideas. The works were exhibited next to my synthetic scene photography piece too, and best of all they won the voters choice award for the publics favourite work! You'll be able to find these work at the Aspire Gallery Paddington for the next few months.

hard to find.

Super excited to announce that you can now find creative monsoon on hard to find! All of our 11x14" and 10x8" nursery prints with FREE shipping in Australia. Hard to find has scoured Australia – and the wider world – for unique, exceptional products from independent craftspeople and manufacturers and creative monsoon is so pleased to be part of it.

Visit our store https://www.hardtofind.com.au/store/creative-monsoon

SNAP16

This month I'll be taking part in the SNAP16 exhibition at the Aspire Gallery with my latest piece 'synthetic scene'

The aim of the exhibition is to highlight the work of photographers often shunned by many in the artworld for not being true artist. Anybody who vists SNAP16, a new Paddington exhibition can see that’s a lie.

SNAP16 is a collection of  photographers of both international and local recognition who know their way around a camera.

SNAP16 is open to the public from the 4th to 21st May at Aspire Gallery in Paddington, Brisbane and showcases a real variety of photographic talent and skill.
53 Kennedy Terrace
Paddington, QLD

10x8 and 11x14" prints are available through artfinder.com

happy valentines day!

Happy valentine's day everyone. kangaroo kisses from creative monsoon 

xxx

aussie nursery art

Happy Australia Day! Thought I should share an update on a little project I started last year, a collection of Aussie birds and animal illustrations for the nursery or a kids bedroom.

To start with I do loads of quick sketches looking a photos to help determine what are the key shapes and positionings I want to go with. Add some colour with pen and then rework them on the computer.

I've got a long way to go before I've got a full set of Australian birds and animals, but so far I couldn't be happier with these guys. Prints are available from creative monsoon on etsy and down that little lane.

floral obi kaleidoscope

Going through my old journals and CDs today (kids, CDs are these silver round things we used to store stuff) I found the start of a very cool looking piece I did in 2004, a digital collage using Japanese obi fabric and my own hand drawn chrysanthemums. I decided to revive it and turn it into a little floral kaleidoscope, wash of colour, and ta da! Never throw stuff out! Love the way it really seems to draw you into the centre.

Prints available through artfind and etsy

evening over the alps

new work: digital mixed media collage print
inspired by my time spent living in New Zealand, some of my favourite things - the tui bird, mountains, lakes and amazing night sky. 
over 30 different layers of texture and images have been put together to create this mountain and lake landscape. 
the mountain range was made up of recycled security envelope lining, then layers of photographs such as pacific island carving and tree bark, vintage and modern illustration and washes of watercolour added.

available from artfinder and etsy